Shelly Zegart

Rochelle Zegart ( Weiss; March 11, 1941 – July 22, 2025) was an American quilt collector, historian, and advocate. She was involved in the establishment of several quilting organizations and is best known for her work promoting quilting as an art form and archiving quilting history.

Early life and education Shelly Zegart was born Rochelle Weiss in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 11, 1941. Her father, David H. Weiss (1905–1979), was a Jewish refugee who fled from Czechoslovakia to the United States. He served 6 terms as a Pennsylvania state representative starting in 1937, then as assistant district attorney, and then was elected as a judge.

Zegart was raised in Monessen, Pennsylvania, and had two siblings. In 1968 she moved with her family to Louisville, Kentucky.

Quilting career She developed an interest in quilts in the 1970s and began decorating her home with them. She worked against the exclusion of quilts from the art world and the diminishment of women's art as "women's work", and advocated for quilting to be taken seriously and treated just like any other art form.

Zegart was an early leader of quilt documentation in the United States. Zegart, Eleanor Bingham Miller, and Eunice Ray came together in 1981 to found The Kentucky Quilt Project, the first statewide quilt documentation project in the United States. This project grew into Kentucky to the World, which she founded in 2013 and was the CEO of until her death. She co-founded the Alliance for American Quilts (also known as the Quilt Alliance) in 1993 and led its development until 2006, and was involved in the establishment of the Quilt Index. Her first international project was a 1987 exhibit of Kentucky quilts for the Women's Committee of the National Trust of Australia in Sydney.

Her book American Quilt Collections: Antique Quilt Masterpieces was published by Nihon Vogue Ltd. in Tokyo in the late 1990s. In her latest days, she was executive producer and host of the nine-part documentary series Why Quilts Matter, History, Art & Politics, which aired on KET (Kentucky's public television station) and other PBS stations across the United States. Zegart spoke at events for groups such as the Rotary Club of Louisville, and appeared on KET's Kentucky Collectibles show, appraising the value of a quilt and discussing its history with a guest. She gave lectures on topics such as "Quilts as Women's Art", "Political Quilts", and "Misperceptions versus Reality in the World of Old Quilts." She also wrote articles about quilting history, including the history of individual quilts, both antique and contemporary.

In 2001, the Art Institute of Chicago acquired Zegart's collection. Her work and legacy was highlighted in the 2008 exhibition titled Shelly Zegart: Passionate About Quilts.

Personal life She married her husband, Kenneth Zegart, on June 17, 1962. Shelly died weeks later, on July 22, 2025, at her home in Louisville. She was 84. Her services were held at Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom. "The Ties That Bind Friendship Quilt" – May 1995 American Quilt Collections: Antique Quilt Masterpieces (1997)